You make business plans and preparations… you outline what you're going to deliver to your audience and how. Then you follow through and actually do it. You provide something of value to your customers, something that will make their lives better.

However, even with the best-laid plans and most thorough organization… things can still happen that affect the perfect outcome or delivery of your business product or service.

So what do you do?

What you do after things don't go quite as planned has a huge impact on how your business does as a whole. People will understand that things don't always go as planned, and sometimes there are “hiccups” in business. And they will remain a loyal customer IF you handle these challenges with them in mind.

The best way to figure out how to get past the challenges and keep your customers, is to actually ask them, “How can we make this right for you?”. Listen to what they say… and unless it is a totally impossible or outrageous request… make it happen for them.

People want to be heard. If they know you are listening, and actually care about what they are saying, there is a great chance they'll become and remain a loyal customer.

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Also known as “The Coolest Couple”, we’re passionate about helping others succeed in their online business. To do that we share COOL tips, tools, and knowledge, along with the wisdom of some very COOL people. Everything we deliver is designed to take the sting out of getting started, simplify technology or increase productivity and profitability. If it isn’t COOL, it’ll never make it here.

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I think we’ve all experienced the customer end of very poor customer service. It’s a cool thing when we are aware of what that looks like and avoid it in our own business. You’re right, great customer service is a huge boost to your business.

When I saw the yellow smiley with the headphones on, a potential blog title popped out at me.

“Are you listening to me?”

The thought was in the context of personality colours… the way we speak to someone will be more effective if we understand what colour the person is. Not quite what you had in mind in your post, I’m sure, but it’s certainly applicable to any relationship. Even if your business is done mostly online, as mine is, our customers are as real as the people we rub shoulders with every day.

Yes, our customers are people and want to be treated as such. The first step is to definitely see them as that… and learn more about them. It’s so much easier to relate to them and create great customer service.

It is not something you hope for, but if an issue arises, it can actually help your business. Provided you handle the situation appropriately, of course. As you guys are saying, customer service of the utmost importance. It can be the absolute best word of mouth. People tend to spread the word if they get the treatment they were asking for (or better).

It’s amazing how by turning a “bad” situation into a “good” one for somebody can actually make them more loyal to you and your business. And word of mouth is definitely the top influence in converting prospects into customers.

Customer service indeed is very important. I’d like to add a comment on two things: Things don’t always happen as planned that is why we have Plan B, Plan C, and so on. One thing I learned during business school was that you should not assume things before you actually see some results. 🙂 Another thing is that customer service will not only gain you loyal customer but it can help you understand the needs of your target market in general.